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Composer Wlad Marhulets is the Winner of the Inaugural Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music

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The Azrieli Music Project (AMP) is proud to announce that composer Wlad Marhulets is the winner of the inaugural Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music for his Klezmer Clarinet Concerto. Marhulets, who submitted a completed orchestral work on a Jewish theme or subject – along with applicants from around the world – has been granted the second of two $50,000 prizes, which were offered for the first time by the Azrieli Foundation. Dr. Sharon Azrieli Perez, noted operatic soprano and scholar in Jewish and cantorial music, created the new prize in 2015 to bring new Jewish music into the world. In September 2015, the Azrieli Music Project announced that Brian Current was the winner of the inaugural Azrieli Commissioning Competition for Canadian composers. Marhulets’s 2009 concerto and Current’s newly created work, The Seven Heavenly Halls, will both be performed at the Azrieli Music Project Inaugural Concert by Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Kent Nagano on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at Maison symphonique de Montréal.

Wlad Marhulets (b. 1986) describes his Klezmer Clarinet Concerto as the most important work of his career. Born in Minsk, Marhulets moved with his family to Gdansk, Poland, as a child. It was there, at the age of 16, that he first heard a recording by the acclaimed klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer. “Listening to this modern reinvention of klezmer music changed my life,” says Marhulets, who immediately picked up the clarinet and formed his own klezmer band. Before travelling to New York City, with the goal of meeting Krakauer, the twenty-year-old composer – who barely spoke a word of English – also sent his compositions to John Corigliano. The Oscar- and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer immediately took Marhulets under his wing at the Juilliard School. Marhulets’s Klezmer Clarinet Concerto was premiered by David Krakauer and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2009, under the baton of Maestro Andrew Litton. The concerto has since been performed by the National Orchestra of Lyon and the Bialystok Symphony in Poland.

“The discovery of Jewish music as a teenager truly turned my life around,” comments Marhulets. “It inspired me to become a musician and to explore my own roots and culture through music. Since then, I’ve been trying to give back by writing music that is primarily inspired by Jewish culture. I’m thrilled and honoured to be the winner of the Azrieli Prize and I could not be more grateful to the Azrieli Foundation. I can’t wait to hear the concerto performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Nagano!”

Dr. Sharon Azrieli Perez comments, “I am truly delighted by the jury’s choice for the inaugural Azrieli Music Prize, which was selected amongst applications from across the globe and from composers of all ages, affiliations and faiths. The Klezmer Clarinet Concerto is a dynamic work that is entirely modern, yet hearkens back to traditional Jewish music. In Wlad Marhulets, we have a young composer who is poised for a major career.” The jury for both Azrieli Music Project prizes consisted of conductor Boris Brott; composer Aaron Jay Kernis; musicologist Neil Levin; conductor and composer Steven Mercurio; and composer Ana Sokolović.

Now based in Los Angeles, Wlad Marhulets has been gaining great acclaim as both a concert and film composer. Marhulets has composed music for such ﬁlms as The Orchestra of Exiles (an acclaimed documentary about the creation of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Oscar nominee Joshua Aronson), The Giver, The November Man, and Sabotage, among others. His notable concert works include The Property, a “Klezmer Opera” commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago; the oratorio Return, written for the beginning of the Polish Presidency in the European Union; and the string quartet “Dybbuk,” written for the JACK Quartet, and also performed by the Kronos Quartet. Marhulets has received the Susan W. Rose Fund Grant, the Peter D. Faith Prize, and ﬁve ASCAP Awards, including the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Award. He is currently working on a symphonic piece commissioned by the Festival of Jewish Culture in Krakow, to be performed this June.

The Azrieli Music Project Inaugural Concert featuring Wlad Marhulets’s Klezmer Clarinet Concerto and Brian Current’s The Seven Heavenly Halls will take place on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at Maison symphonique de Montréal with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the OSM Chorus and Maestro Kent Nagano. Complete programming and soloists will be announced soon. Tickets ($40-$100) are on sale now at OSM.ca.

The Azrieli Foundation is a Canadian philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of initiatives and programs in the fields of education, architecture and design, Jewish community, Holocaust commemoration and education, scientific and medical research, and the arts.

www.azrielifoundation.org/music

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Le Projet de musique Azrieli a le plaisir d’annoncer que le compositeur Wlad Marhulets a remporté le tout premier Prix Azrieli de musique juive pour son Klezmer Clarinet Concerto. L’heureux lauréat été choisi parmi des candidats du monde entier qui ont soumis une œuvre orchestrale complète sur un thème ou un sujet juif. Wlad Marhulets a remporté le second de deux prix de 50 000 dollars chacun, offerts pour la première fois par la Fondation Azrieli. Dr Sharon Azrieli Perez, soprano opératique réputée et également érudite en matière de musique juive et cantoriale, a créé le prix en 2015 pour apporter au monde de la nouvelle musique juive. En septembre 2015, le Projet de musique Azrieli avait en effet annoncé que Brian Current remportait le premier Concours de commandes Azrieli destiné aux compositeurs canadiens. Le concerto composé par Wlad Marhulets en 2009 et la nouvelle œuvre de Brian Current, The Seven Heavenly Halls, seront interprétés par l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal sous la direction de maestro Kent Nagano le mercredi 19 octobre 2016, à la Maison symphonique de Montréal.

Wlad Marhulets (né en 1986) voit dans son Klezmer Clarinet Concerto sa plus importante composition à ce jour. Né à Minsk, il était enfant lorsque sa famille s’est installée à Gdansk, en Pologne. C’est là qu’à 16 ans, il a pour la première fois entendu un enregistrement du célèbre clarinettiste klezmer David Krakauer. « Cette version contemporaine de la musique klezmer a changé ma vie », affirme Wlad, qui a immédiatement opté pour la clarinette et formé son propre ensemble klezmer. À 20 ans, avant de se rendre à New York dans le but de rencontrer David Krakauer, le jeune compositeur – qui parlait à peine l’anglais – a aussi envoyé ses compositions à John Corigliano. Le compositeur, détenteur d’un Oscar et d’un prix Pulitzer, l’a immédiatement pris sous son aile à la Juilliard School. Le Klezmer Clarinet Concerto a été interprété pour la première fois par David Krakauer et l’Orchestre symphonique de Détroit en 2009, sous la direction de maestro Andrew Litton. Depuis, l’Orchestre national de Lyon, en France, et l’Orchestre symphonique de Białystok, en Pologne, l’ont aussi joué.

« La découverte de la musique juive pendant mon adolescence a transformé mon existence, dit-il. Elle m’a incité à devenir musicien et à explorer, par le biais de la musique, mes racines et ma culture. Depuis, j’ai tenté à mon tour d’apporter ma contribution en composant de la musique essentiellement inspirée par la culture juive. Je suis très honoré de remporter le Prix Azrieli et extrêmement reconnaissant envers la Fondation Azrieli. J’ai vraiment hâte d’entendre l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal jouer mon concerto sous la direction de maestro Nagano ! »

De son côté, Dr Sharon Azrieli Perez déclare : « Je suis vraiment ravie du choix des membres du jury pour cette première édition du Prix Azrieli de musique. Ils ont eu à sélectionner parmi des œuvres venues de partout dans le monde et soumises par des compositeurs de tous âges, de toutes affiliations et de toutes croyances. Le Klezmer Clarinet Concerto est une œuvre dynamique, totalement moderne, mais qui évoque la musique juive traditionnelle. En la personne de Wlad Marhulets, nous avons un jeune compositeur à l’aube d’une importante carrière. » Le jury des deux prix du Projet de musique Azrieli réunissait le chef d’orchestre Boris Brott, le compositeur Aaron Jay Kernis, le musicologue Neil Levin, le chef d’orchestre et compositeur Steven Mercurio, et la compositrice Ana Sokolović.

Désormais établi à Los Angeles, Wlad Marhulets rencontre un succès grandissant avec ses compositions pour concerts et pour films. Il a en effet créé la musique de films tels que The Orchestra of Exiles, (un documentaire exceptionnel portant sur la création de l’Orchestre philharmonique d’Israël, et réalisé par Joshua Aronson), The Giver, The November Man et Sabotage, entre autres. On compte parmi ses principales œuvres orchestrales The Property, un « opéra klezmer » commandé par l’Opéra lyrique de Chicago, l’oratorio Return, écrit pour inaugurer la présidence polonaise du Conseil de l’Union européenne (2011), et le quatuor à cordes Dybbuk, composé pour le JACK Quartet, et interprété également par le Kronos Quartet. Par ailleurs, Wlad Marhulets est récipiendaire d’une bourse Susan W. Rose, d’un prix Peter D. Faith, et de cinq récompenses de l’ASCAP parmi lesquelles le prestigieux Prix Leonard Bernstein. Il travaille actuellement à une pièce symphonique commandée par le Festival de la Culture juive de Cracovie. Elle sera jouée pour la première fois en juin.

Le concert inaugural du Projet de musique Azrieli, qui comprendra notamment le Klezmer Clarinet Concerto de Wlad Marhulets et The Seven Heavenly Halls de Brian Current, aura lieu le mercredi 19 octobre 2016, à la Maison symphonique de Montréal avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, le Chœur de l’OSM et maestro Kent Nagano. Le programme complet et les noms des solistes seront annoncés sous peu. Les billets (de 40 $ à 100 $) sont en vente sur le site OSM.ca.

La Fondation Azrieli est une organisation philanthropique canadienne qui apporte son soutien à de nombreux programmes et initiatives dans le domaine de l’éducation, de l’architecture, du design, de la communauté, de la commémoration et de l’éducation sur l’Holocauste, de la recherche médicale et scientifique, ainsi que dans le domaine des arts.

Opera on the Avalon Presents the World Premiere of “Ours” ~ July 1 & 2

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May 27, 2016

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Newfoundland and Labrador’s Opera on the Avalon proudly presents the world premiere of Ours, a new opera by Juno-nominated Canadian composer John Estacio with a libretto by Governor General Award-winning playwright Robert Chafe. Opera on the Avalon, led by Artistic Director Cheryl Hickman and based in St. John’s, is Atlantic Canada’s only professional opera company. Opera on the Avalon commissioned Ours to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel, a WWI battle which devastated the ranks of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment on July 1, 1916. Internationally-acclaimed baritone Brett Polegato leads an all-Canadian cast of twelve, with full chorus, in the role of Thomas Nangle, chaplain to the Regiment. The singers and orchestra are conducted by Judith Yan with stage direction by Glynis Leyshon and design by Patrick Clark. Ours will be presented in two performances, on July 1 and 2 at 8pm, at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s.

For Hickman, who was born and raised in St. John’s, Ours resonates far beyond the province’s borders, “Our vision is to create a work that will be a legacy for all Canadians, to help us honour the memories of the past and to serve as an inspiration for our future. Newfoundland and Labrador is steeped in history and Opera on the Avalon is dedicated to transforming that history into art.”

Ours was one of only four new Canadian operas invited to present a showcase at this year’s Opera America conference. To hear an excerpt from the beautiful, moving score please click here (begin 35:40).

“Ours” is how the people of the province referred to the Newfoundland Regiment. During the Battle of the Somme, the Regiment’s tragic advance near the French town of Beaumont Hamel on the morning of July 1, 1916 became an enduring symbol of valour and wartime sacrifice – and a cultural memory seared into the hearts of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. In a single morning, the Regiment was almost wiped out. When roll call was taken, only 68 men answered – 324 were killed, or missing and presumed dead, and 386 were wounded. “I am honoured to have the opportunity to tell a story that is of great significance to Newfoundland’s rich history,” comments composer John Estacio, “Ours will be an intimate and personal opera about individuals whose lives were indelibly affected by this battle. Through music and storytelling, I hope to honour the sacrifices made by thousands and celebrate the land they loved and called home.”

This is first opera libretto for St. John’s-based playwright Robert Chafe: “Ours is an attempt to speak to patriotism and nationhood, faith, and family. I think it has resonance beyond any specific discussion of war … it goes to places that examine our human need for meaning, our need to commemorate, and to make sense of those things that are difficult to remember – but can’t be forgotten.”

Ours tracks the social, political, and emotional aftermath of the battle of Beaumont Hamel through the story of Thomas Nangle, whose dedication, sacrifice, and renewal is the human embodiment of Newfoundland’s journey through the war, its horrific aftermath, and its re-emergence as a province of Canada. Nangle was posted as chaplain to the Newfoundland Regiment shortly after Beaumont Hamel and served out the rest of the war with “Ours.” Following the war, he lead efforts to exhume, identify, and properly bury the remains of much of the lost regiment across Europe, then almost single-handedly established the existing five war memorial sites across Europe, as well as the Newfoundland National War Memorial in St. John’s. His hard work didn’t come without personal cost, however, and Nangle, disillusioned, left the priesthood and Newfoundland. Though his legacy stands in stone on two continents, his name – of unparalleled importance in the history of Newfoundland – has all but been lost to popular knowledge. In addition to baritone Brett Polegato as Thomas Nangle, the cast features tenor Roger Honeywell as Archbishop Roche, head of the church in Newfoundland; with mezzo soprano Elizabeth Turnbull as the mother of an underage soldier; and soprano Lara Ciekiewicz as May, the fiancé of a troubled soldier who meets a tragic end.

Today, July 1 remains an official day of remembrance in Newfoundland and Labrador. Coinciding with the world premiere of Ours, Jim Maunder’s art installation “Garden of Tears” will fill the lawns of the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s with over 1,500 forget-me-not flowers.

Founded in 2009 by opera singer Cheryl Hickman, Opera on the Avalon has become an undisputed leader in the cultural life of Newfoundland and Labrador, with a diverse and innovative repertoire that pushes the boundaries of opera. The company offers emerging artists the opportunity to explore new and established repertoire alongside distinguished artists. This season, Opera on the Avalon also presents Sondheim’s Sweeny Todd on June 17 and 18.

The commission of Ours is generously sponsored by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts, Commemorate Canada, Telus, the Patten Family Foundation, Cox & Palmer, and Marco.

www.operaontheavalon.com

Classical Music Platform primephonic Introduces Lossless Audio and Meticulous Metadata

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May 25, 2016

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primephonic, a superior quality classical music platform, designed and developed in the Netherlands by a team of 10 classical music specialists, is now launching in North America. Founded in 2015, primephonic offers classical music downloads in formats ranging from WAV, to FLAC, to DSD – with no compressed files or degraded sound – and will follow later this year with an equally high-quality streaming service. Already offering music from a host of superb labels, primephonic expands to include the Sony Classical catalogue this month. With its unsurpassed detail and dynamic sound, sophisticated and thorough metadata, a vibrant online community, and a huge range of recordings, primephonic is unrivalled as the central platform for classical music online.

Dirk Jan Vink, Managing Director of primephonic, comments: “primephonic offers a vast treasure chest of sound that embodies the richness of artistry and audio throughout the ages. Our mission is to deliver digital music in the same audio format in which they came into being – an uncensored and uncondensed classical music experience.” As the head of PENTATONE – renowned for its superb sound – Vink recognized that the download providers in the market were not sufficient for the classical label’s needs. Thus, the idea was born to build a bridge between classical music and the digital world by establishing a better download platform that would be open and available for all classical music labels.

The UK-based audiophile magazine What High-Fi? praised primephonic earlier this year, saying: “With a great catalogue, superb website and useful extra content, not to mention a growing community, it is much more than just a download site … this is the place to be if you’re a classical music fan.”

The question of reliable metadata has plagued classical music enthusiasts since the debut of download sites like iTunes, as well as with more recent streaming platforms. In a widely-discussed article from June 2015, NPR’s Anastasia Tsioulcas wrote: “If that metadata is wrong, or — as is so often the case — incomplete, then there’s a big problem. Call it the “tree falling in a forest” conundrum: If classical recordings can’t be found and heard, they functionally cease to exist.” And, in a despairing article entitled “The Tragedy of iTunes and Classical Music” from July 2015, The Atlantic commented that iTunes’ metadata systems “really, really fall apart when they need to classify classical music.” Accurate and thoroughly searchable metadata is a top priority for primephonic’s team of passionate classical music experts, who carefully index every aspect of an album before adding to the catalogue. Finally, primephonic offers the metadata solution, for the classical music industry and customers alike.

Responding to both frustrated audiophiles and to a culture that has settled for the inferior, ubiquitous MP3, primephonic offers sound quality even superior to CD. primephonic’s downloads are offered in three uncompressed file formats: WAV (stereo) FLAC (stereo/surround) and DSD (stereo/surround).

In addition to music downloads, primephonic offers informative features in its extensive news section including reviews, artist features and interviews, daily news insights about classical music and high-end audio, and historical information. Also an all-inclusive music community, primephonic is a meeting place, with a user profile system and an interactive platform interface. Within the primephonic community, conversations are facilitated among audiophiles, hardware manufacturers, audio magazines, labels, performers, and classical music lovers.

Already featuring a selection of excellent independent labels, primephonic is delighted to be adding the complete Sony Classical catalogue to its offerings for the UK and the US markets, including recordings from artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, Joshua Bell, and many other great stars. New releases from Sony Classical will be the first to be available on primephonic, followed by a huge selection of albums from the entire catalogue of more than 8,000 albums over the next months.

At the end of 2016, primephonic will also launch the beta version of its streaming platform in the UK and the US. More details will soon be announced regarding primephonic’s streaming subscription service.

For more information on the many features primephonic has to offer, please also view the current primephonic magazine. The new issue of primephonic’s magazine will be released at the end of May 2016.

www.primephonic.com

Brilliant Russian Violinist Roman Mints Returns With Music by Alfred Schnittke, Following his “Fascinating and Technically Brilliant” (The New York Times) Dance of Shadows

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April 29, 2016

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The multi-award winning Russian violinist Roman Mints follows up his critically-acclaimed 2014 solo release Dance of Shadows with a new recording for Quartz Music featuring the music of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998). On Alfred Schnittke Works for Violin and Piano, Mints collaborates with friend and colleague Katya Apekisheva, one of Europe’s most renowned pianists. The new recording includes Schnittke’s Sonatas 1-3, Congratulatory Rondo, Stille Nacht, and Polka, as well as the aptly-named Suite in Old Style for Viola D’Amore, Harpsichord and Percussion with Olga Martynova on harpsichord and percussionists Andrey Doynikov and Dmitri Vlassik. The double album is available from Allegro Classical starting on May 6, 2016.

“Obsession is the overriding mental state in this fascinating and technically brilliant recording of works for solo violin,” said The New York Times about Dance of Shadows, which featured an innovative program of music by Ysaÿe, Piazzolla, and Schnittke, as well as a premiere by Dobrinka Tabakova. The violinist’s use of a moveable microphone recording technique he calls “spatial orchestration” prompted Strings Magazine to comment, “Mints uses a low-tech kind of virtual 3D technology to make his Dance of Shadows recital a thing of haunting beauty and magic.” And, The Big City said of his “imaginative” selections of solo pieces: “Mints plays the hell out of them.”

Roman Mints comments, “Schnittke’s works for violin and piano cover every period of his creative life, and could even be an ideal guide to his world. For anyone who didn’t live in the Soviet Union this might be hard to understand, but for me, this music is precisely about us, about that life, those pains, those joys, about the things you couldn’t say out loud but which you could whisper in the ear.”

Mints’s early introduction to Schnittke – he first heard the Suite in the Old Style at a children’s music school – was followed by his early interest in any dissonant music and his collection of LPs of Schnittke’s symphonies on the Soviet record label Melodiya. When Mints came to study at the Royal College of Music in London in 1994 he found a similar devotee in his professor, Felix Andrievsky, who taught him to think of Schnittke’s music in terms of imagery. “Schnittke’s music brings to mind very definite images,” says Mints, “a result I think of how much work he did for the cinema. I learned to hear the simple, graspable emotions in his music.”

Mints’s first attempt to record an all-Schnittke album back in 1991 was waylaid by a serious condition in his arm, and he now believes the long delay was for the best: “I do still have a particular connection to his music,” says Mints, “for me it is simple and clear, and it speaks my language.”

Roman Mints was born in Moscow and began playing the violin at the age of five. In 1994, Roman won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London and also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, winning prizes at each, alongside contemporaries Dobrinka Tabakova, Elena Langer, Maxim Rysanov, and Kristina Blaumane. Mints has championed the work of Leonid Desyatnikov, a major figure in post-World War II Russian music. He has given the Russian premieres of works by Tavener, MacMillan, Mozetich and world premieres of over fifty works including compositions from Tabakova, Bennett, Langer, Finnissy, Irvine and others. In 1998, Roman and his friend oboist Dmitry Bulgakov founded the highly respected Homecoming Chamber Music Festival which takes place annually in Moscow. In addition to Dance of Shadows for Quartz, Mints’ previous recordings include the Grammy-nominated String Paths for ECM, and releases for the Black Box and Harmonia Mundi labels.

Russian pianist Katya Apekisheva is in demand internationally as both a soloist and as a chamber musician. A prize-winner in the Leeds International and Scottish Piano Competitions, she has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Hallé Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon, Jan Latham-Koenig and Alexander Lazarev. Among Apekisheva’s acclaimed recordings are Grieg solo piano works for Quartz (Gramophone Editor’s Choice) and works by Mussorgsky and Shostakovich for the Onyx label.

ROMANMINTS.COM QUARTZMUSIC.COM

The Sixteen Releases “The Deer’s Cry,” Exquisite Music by William Byrd and Arvo Pärt

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April 14, 2016

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“The Sixteen are reclaiming the repertoire with their signature full-bloom sound, exchanging asceticism for generosity and warmth … an essential addition.”

– Gramophone

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen present a striking new recording, featuring music by two composers – both masters of sacred music – born four centuries apart: William Byrd (c.1539/40 – 1623) and Arvo Pärt (b. 1935). This program features six of William Byrd’s works from the Cantiones Sacrae, including the monumental Tribue, Domine, and the mighty eight-voice motet Ad Dominum cum tribularer, as well as works by Thomas Tallis, including Miserere nostri, which is now believed to have been written in collaboration with Byrd. The three works by Pärt speak in his unmistakable voice, with its unique blend of ancient and modern, and include his mesmerizing Nunc dimittis which is crafted in his bell-like “tintinnabuli” style. The new recording on The Sixteen’s CORO label is available this month from Allegro Classical.

This year, The Sixteen is presenting The Deer’s Cry program in 33 towns and cities across the UK. The Observer called the program “irresistible,” noting the music’s “simplicity and intensity, perfectly suited to the blended sound of the Sixteen.” AllMusic Guide says, “The popular choral group the Sixteen has never sounded better than on this release … it’s fascinating to hear the musical results of this experience even with more than four centuries separating the works of the two composers.”

Over one hundred recordings reflect The Sixteen’s quality in a range of work spanning the music of 500 years. Recent releases for the CORO label include Poetry in Music, which The New York Times called “beautiful and brilliant”; the 6^th volume of the ensemble’s acclaimed Palestrina series; and the Grammy-nominated Monteverdi: Vespers Of 1610.

Première Mondiale en Version Orchestrale de « Le voyage de Babar : Le retour au pays des éléphants » de Raphael Mostel présentée par L’OSM

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April 11, 2016

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« Difficile de résister à son charme ! » – The New York Times

Le voyage de Babar : Le retour au pays des éléphants, de Raphael Mostel, sera présenté en première mondiale dans sa version orchestrale par l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal sous la direction de Dina Gilbert, le 15 mai à 13 h 30 à la Maison symphonique de Montréal. Les comédiens Sophie Cadieux et Pierre Brassard assureront la narration en français.

* Jean de Brunhoff, aquarelle originale pour Le Voyage de Babar, 1932, Collection BnF, utilisation autorisée

L’œuvre du renommé compositeur américain Raphael Mostel est basée sur un album du même titre de l’auteur-illustrateur Jean de Brunhoff, classique de 1932 et second livre de la série adorée Babar. Maurice Sendak a déjà écrit : « Mon préféré parmi les livres de Jean, est Le voyage de Babar, qui est rempli d’affolants et amusants rebondissements…c’est un tour de force. » En racontant l’histoire scène par scène, la partition innovatrice de Mostel voyage dans un riche univers d’idées musicales initiant aux joies et au pouvoir de la musique. Bien que l’œuvre puisse plaire à tous, Mostel souhaite encourager les jeunes à comprendre la musique pour qu’ils en fassent ensuite eux-mêmes. Kent Nagano, directeur musical de l’OSM, décrit la musique du Babar de Mostel comme « merveilleusement spirituelle et universelle ».

« Je suis ravi que la première mondiale de cette nouvelle version orchestrale du Voyage de Babar soit présentée par l’un des meilleurs orchestres du monde dans l’une des meilleures salles de concert du monde. Je ne peux m’imaginer une ville, une salle et un orchestre plus appropriés pour lancer cette nouvelle œuvre basée sur un classique français emblématique », dit Raphael Mostel.

De plus, cette prestation de l’OSM intègre en première mondiale un diaporama réalisé par le compositeur des célèbres illustrations de Brunhoff en haute définition sur écran géant. La Bibliothèque nationale de France, la Morgan Library, la Collection Kendra et Allan Daniel ainsi que plusieurs collectionneurs privés ont fourni des copies numérisées en haute résolution des aquarelles originales pour le spectacle de Mostel. Jack Lindholm, Sharon MacNair, Jeff Young et Mostel ont travaillé aux effets visuels.

Cette première, qui fait partie de la série Jeux d’enfants de l’OSM, est complétée par la seule autre œuvre de concert autorisée d’un livre de Babar de Jean de Brunhoff : il s’agit de la composition de 1940 de Francis Poulenc basée sur son premier livre, L’Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant, dans la version orchestrale de Jean Françaix. Mostel et Poulenc sont les deux seuls compositeurs à avoir obtenu l’autorisation de la famille de l’auteur. Ce sera la première fois que les deux œuvres seront entendues au cours d’un même concert.

« En présentant ma version du second livre de Babar avec la version de Poulenc du premier livre, l’OSM a fait un superbe choix de programme, dit Raphael Mostel. Poulenc a donné énormément de plaisir au public au cours des soixante-quinze dernières années. J’espère que ma suite de l’histoire sera également adoptée et fera autant honneur au génie de Jean de Brunhoff. Le Babar de Poulenc commence avec l’enfance de son héros et se conclut par son couronnement et son mariage avec sa reine, Céleste. Le deuxième livre est si riche en événements que cela m’a amené à composer une œuvre deux fois plus longue que celle de Poulenc. C’est pourquoi, quand l’OSM m’a demandé une version de mon œuvre qui pourrait être jumelée à celle de Poulenc, j’ai divisé Le voyage de Babar en deux parties plus courtes pouvant être jouées séparément : la Lune de miel de Babar et Céleste, et le Retour au pays des éléphants, où ils restaurent la paix et le bonheur.

Bien que le concert du 15 mai de l’OSM représente la première mondiale officielle de cette nouvelle version orchestrale du Voyage de Babar : retour au pays des éléphants, l’OSM a déjà présenté l’œuvre trois fois en novembre 2015 à l’occasion de concerts pour des écoles. Avec la permission de l’OSM, une partie de la Lune de miel a aussi été jouée par le New York Philharmonic en décembre. Le président de l’orchestre, Matthew VanBesien, a déclaré : « l’œuvre a fait très belle impression et les jeunes présents dans la salle semblaient vraiment enchantés. »

La partition originale du Voyage de Babar pour huit musiciens a été commandée pour un CD lancé au Japon par S.T Semba de Toshiba/EMI. La version originale pour octuor de l’œuvre fantaisiste a été jouée avec beaucoup de succès depuis 1998, avec un éventail de narrateurs célèbres dont Phylicia Rashad, Bobby Short, Jerry Stiller et Anne Meara, ainsi que Laurent de Brunhoff, le fils aîné du créateur de Babar. La seule et unique collaboration de l’histoire entre la Guilde du Metropolitan Opera et le New York City Opera a été une utilisation de la version originale pour octuor du Voyage de Babar de Mostel pour initier à la musique et à la musique de théâtre dans le cadre de leurs programmes éducatifs.

En dédiant des scènes spécifiques de cette version orchestrale à de généreux donateurs, le compositeur, en association avec GOH Productions, a soutenu le financement requis à la création de cette nouvelle version du Voyage de Babar. La version orchestrale complète de Retour au pays des éléphants est dédiée à la mémoire d’Anna-Maria Kellen, en remerciement de sa générosité exceptionnelle.

Salué par The New York Times pour avoir « créé un répertoire d’œuvres envoûtantes », Raphael Mostel est un des compositeurs actuels les plus populaires et polyvalents. La grande variété de ses œuvres – tant pour les ensembles de musique classique conventionnels, comme son Babar, que pour des instruments non occidentaux comme les Tibetan singing bowls et les chofars – lui a valu les louanges du Los Angeles Times : « il n’y a pas d’imaginaires aux horizons plus lointains que ceux de Mostel. »

Mostel a aussi reçu une commande d’œuvre pour les Cuivres de l’Orchestre Royal du Concertgebouw d’Amsterdam pour commémorer l’anniversaire de la libération des Pays-Bas de l’occupation nazie ; Alex Ross, critique musical du New Yorker, a choisi son Night and Dawn (2005) comme l’une des œuvres importantes de l’année. Son Tibetan Singing Bowl Ensemble : New Music for Old Instruments^sm, qu’il a fondé et dirige, est connu pour ses prestations rituelles que bien des observateurs ont cru, à tort, originaires d’une autre culture, d’un autre temps, d’un autre lieu. L’ensemble a fait l’objet d’une exposition rétrospective à la New York Public Library for the Performing Arts du Lincoln Center, et a aussi été présenté au Lincoln Center, au Metropolitan Museum of Art, à la Asia Society, et ses prestations ont été diffusées à la National Public Radio ainsi qu’à travers le monde. L’espace est un élément-clé de plusieurs de ses compositions, comme son œuvre la plus imposante, « Ceremonial for the Equinox, an acoustic music ritual, » commandé par la Cathédrale St. John the Divine de New York. L’œuvre pour 45 musiciens (incluant un septuor de chofar), a été décrite comme une « célébration rituelle enchantée » par le Los Angeles Times. L’un des programmes les plus souvent demandés à la station new-yorkaise WNYC est la performance en direct de Mostel’s Swiftly, How Swiftly… et The River, composé et interprété pour les commémorations d’Hiroshima et de Nagasaki, au Japon, par son Ensemble, en 1987, et dédié aux victimes des bombardements.

En tant que professeur, Raphael Mostel a collaboré depuis 2008 avec l’architecte reconnu Steven Holl à l’Architectonics of Music Studio de l’École d’architecture (GSAPP) de la Columbia University, une institution de renommée internationale. Les écrits de Mostel et ses entretiens avec des artistes tels qu’Olivier Messiaen ont été publiés dans The New York Times, The Forward, le Deutsche Welle, le magazine japonais Ongaku Geijutsu, et Klassiskmusikkmagasin. Raphael Mostel est un neveu de l’acteur renommé Zero Mostel. Il vit à New York.

Le voyage de Babar & autres escales

Dimanche 15 mai à 13 h 30, Maison symphonique de Montréal

Billets : 16 $ à 42 $ | OSM.CA | 514 842-9951

Raphael Mostel’s The Travels of Babar: Return to the Land of the Elephants ~ World Premiere Orchestral Version presented by OSM

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April 11, 2016

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“Its charms are hard to resist!” – The New York Times

The world premiere of the orchestral version of Raphael Mostel’s The Travels of Babar: Return to the Land of the Elephants will be presented by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Dina Gilbert, on Sunday, May 15 at 1:30pm at Maison symphonique de Montréal, and narrated in French by actors Sophie Cadieux and Pierre Brassard.

*Jean de Brunhoff, original watercolour for Le Voyage de Babar, 1932, Collection BnF, used with permission.

Acclaimed American composer Raphael Mostel’s composition is based on the much-loved classic 1932 picture-book of the same name by author-artist Jean de Brunhoff, his second book in the series. Maurice Sendak wrote “My favorite among Jean’s books, The Travels of Babar, is full of alarming and amusing twists of fate…this is a tour de force.” Mostel’s innovative score narrates the story scene by scene, while traveling through an analogously rich array of musical ideas to introduce the range of the joys and power of music. While the score appeals to all ages, Mostel’s intention is to encourage the young to understand and make music themselves. OSM Music Director Kent Nagano describes Mostel’s Babar score as “wonderfully witty and universal.”

Mostel comments, “I am thrilled that the world premiere of the new orchestral version of The Travels of Babar is being given by one of the world’s great orchestras in one of the finest concert halls in the world. I can’t imagine a more perfect orchestra, hall, and city to launch this new work based on the iconic French classic.”

Additionally, the OSM performance will include the world premiere of new HD version of Mostel’s innovative slide-show — directed by the composer — of the famous illustrations projected on a giant screen. The Bibliothèque nationale de Paris, the Morgan Library, the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection, and several private collectors have provided high-resolution scans of the original watercolours expressly for Mostel’s show. The team working on the visuals included Jack Lindholm, Sharon MacNair, Jeff Young, and Mostel.

This world premiere performance, part of the OSM’s Children’s Corner series, is paired with the only other concert-work to have been permitted for one of Jean de Brunhoff’s Babar books: Francis Poulenc‘s 1940 composition based on the first book, The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant, in the orchestral version by Jean Françaix. Mostel and Poulenc are the only two composers who have been granted permission by the author’s family, and this OSM performance marks the first time both works will be heard on the same program.

“Introducing my setting of the second Babar book together with Poulenc’s setting of the first Babar book is a superb programming choice by the OSM,” comments composer Raphael Mostel. “Poulenc’s has given much pleasure to audiences for the past seventy-five years. I hope my new continuation of the story will be similarly embraced and equally honour the genius of Jean de Brunhoff. Poulenc’s Babar begins with him as a baby and ends with his coronation and wedding to his queen, Céleste. The rich abundance of incidents in the second book has led me to compose a work that turned out to be more than twice the length of Poulenc’s. So when the OSM requested a version of my work that could be paired with the Poulenc, I divided my Travels of Babar into two shorter and independently performable works: Babar and Céleste’s Honeymoon and their Return to the Land of the Elephants, where they restore peace and happiness.”

Although the OSM’s May 15 concert marks the official world premiere of the new orchestral version of Mostel’s Travels of Babar: Return to the Land of the Elephants, the OSM presented the work in November 2015 in three school performances. And, with the permission of the OSM, a portion of the Honeymoon was given a first performance by the New York Philharmonic in December, prompting the orchestra’s President Matthew VanBesien to comment that Mostel’s Babar “made a wonderful impression and the youngsters in the audience seemed absolutely delighted.”

Mostel’s original score of The Travels of Babar for eight musicians was commissioned for CD release in Japan by S.T. Semba of Toshiba/EMI. The original octet version of the fanciful work has been performed to great acclaim since 1998, with a string of celebrity narrators including Phylicia Rashad, Bobby Short, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, as well as Laurent de Brunhoff, the eldest son of Babar creator Jean. The one and only collaboration in history between the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the New York City Opera was by their education programs in using the original octet version of Mostel’s Travels of Babar to introduce music and music theatre.

By dedicating individual scenes of this orchestral version in honor of various generous individual donors Mostel.com, the composer’s publisher, in association with GOH Productions, has supported the funding required for the creation of this new version of The Travels of Babar. In gratitude of one particularly generous donor, the entire orchestral version of the Return to the Land of the Elephants is dedicated in memory of Anna-Maria Kellen.

Lauded by The New York Times for having “created a repertory of entrancing works,” Raphael Mostel is one of today’s most popular and multifaceted composers. The unusually wide range of his works — for standard classical music ensembles such as his Babar, as well as for non-western instruments like Tibetan singing bowls and shofars — has compelled The Los Angeles Times to declare: “there is nothing so imaginatively far afield as the likes of Mostel.”

Mostel was also commissioned to compose music for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Brass Ensemble to commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops from Nazi rule; his 2005 Night and Dawn was selected by New Yorker critic Alex Ross as one of the notable new compositions of the year. His iconoclastic Tibetan Singing Bowl Ensemble: New Music for Old Instruments^sm, a group he founded and directs, is known for theatrically ritualistic performances that many have incorrectly assumed to be from some “other” culture, time and place. The ensemble was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and has also been presented at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Asia Society, and broadcast many times live on National Public Radio and world-wide. Many of his compositions are spatially-conceived, such as his largest work, “Ceremonial for the Equinox, an acoustic music ritual” commissioned by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for 45 musicians (including shofar septet), and described as “a mesmerizing celebratory rite” by The Los Angeles Times. One of the most frequently requested programs of New York’s WNYC is the live performance of Mostel’s Swiftly, How Swiftly… and The River, composed for and performed at the commemorations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan by his Ensemble in 1987, and dedicated to the victims of the bombs.

As a teacher, Raphael Mostel has been collaborating with noted architect Steven Holl in the internationally-acclaimed Architectonics of Music Studio at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation of Columbia University since 2008. Mostel’s writings and feature/interviews with artists such as Olivier Messiaen have appeared internationally in such publications as The New York Times, The Forward, Deutsche Welle, Japanese magazine Ongaku Geijutsu, and Klassiskmusikkmagasin. Raphael Mostel is a nephew of noted actor Zero Mostel. He resides in New York City.

The Travels of Babar & Other Ports of Call

Sunday, May 15 at 1:30 pm, Maison symphonique de Montréal

Tickets: $16 – 42 | OSM.CA | 514 842-9951

New Album from Claire Jones, Former Royal Harpist for HRH The Prince of Wales

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February 5, 2016

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“Jones’ sensitivity and panache enchant the senses.” – BBC Music Magazine

Welsh harpist Claire Jones, acclaimed for her “virtuosity, enthusiasm, and showmanship” (Daily Mail UK), became a household name in Britain and recognized around the world when she performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace in April 2011. Now, Silva Classics (Silva Screen Records) is releasing Royal Harp Strings, a gorgeous selection of classical and folk arrangements for harp and string orchestra. A compilation of two top-charting albums in the UK, the music on Royal Harp Strings is being released for the first time in North America to coincide with Jones’ American tour. Claire Jones first came to international attention in 2007 when she was named official harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales; over the course of her four-year tenure she performed at over 180 royal engagements, including private recitals for the Queen.

On Royal Harp Strings, Claire Jones is joined by the London Mozart Players and the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Stuart Morley, in beautiful new arrangements for harp and string orchestra. Sumptuous selections from the world of opera include the Flower Duet from Lakmé, “O Mio Babbino Caro,” and the “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka. Also featured are a dramatic arrangement of “Scarborough Fair,” arranged by Chris Marshall; a soothing rendition of the Welsh lullaby “Si Hei Lwli Mabi” (Go To Sleep My Baby); and a joyous version of the Irish folk tune “Toss The Feathers.” Claire also performs the theme from the British film Ladies in Lavender, as well as a bonus track, a solo version of the theme from Downton Abbey.

In March, Claire Jones will be heard in several US performances, including C2, duet recitals with her husband, composer and percussionist Chris Marshall. Jones and Marshall will appear at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida on March 4; at St Luke’s Lutheran Church in Oviedo, Florida on March 6; on the Grace Concert Series in Richmond, Virginia on March 10. Claire will also perform with the American Youth Harp Ensemble, including a performance in Richmond on March 11, followed by a solo recital as part of the Green Spring Concert Series in Frederick, Maryland on March 12.

Born in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1985, Claire Jones began her musical education at the age of seven. After excelling at the violin, piano and harp, she graduated as a harpist from the Royal College of Music with First Class Honours in 2007 and in 2009 graduated as an M.A. scholar from the Royal Academy of Music. Since making her concerto debut in 2008 with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Claire has performed with the English Chamber, Zurich Chamber, and European Union Chamber orchestras. Other highlights include a solo appearance with Maestro Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet; concerts in Rio de Janeiro; solo recitals in Wigmore Hall and Cadogan Hall; and musical collaborations with Sir James Galway, Bryn Terfel, Alfie Bow, and Julian Lloyd Webber.

Claire has spoken out publicly about her struggles with ME Chronic Fatigue syndrome. She suffered from the illness for about 18 months, returning to full health last year. Claire credits many of the works on Royal Harp Strings – originally released in the UK as Journey – as her “soundtrack to recovery,” adding “I hope the music on this new album will be as soothing and as uplifting for listeners as it has been for me.”

Claire Jones is also an ambassador for The Prince of Wales’s Children and the Arts Foundation, and is the face of international jewellery company, Clogau Gold.

Haimovitz & O’Riley’s Acclaimed Shuffle.Play.Listen. Gets a High-res Re-release on Pentatone

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February 4, 2016

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In 2011, pianist Christopher O’Riley and cellist Matt Haimovitz released their genre-blurring double-album Shuffle.Play.Listen. to wide acclaim. Deemed “a landmark record” (Portland Press Herald) and “a stimulating step forward” (AllMusic), Shuffle.Play.Listen. juxtaposes works by Stravinsky, Martinu, Janáček, and Piazzolla with O’Riley’s arrangements of Bernard Hermann, Radiohead, Cocteau Twins, Blonde Redhead, Arcade Fire and John McLaughlin. The new reissue – available in full surround-sound SACD (96 kHz, 24 bit PCM recording) for the first time – is released internationally on the PENTATONE Oxingale series this month.

“If any artists were destined to collaborate, it was surely this pair,” said the The New York Times. “Haimovitz and O’Riley have accomplished even more than they set out to do,” said AllMusic, “The boundaries between rock and classical are erased here not just by juxtaposition but by cognizance of interpenetration.” Last March, Matt and Chris visited NPR for a Tiny Desk Concert which included the 2^nd movement of Janáček’s Pohádka (Fairy Tale) from the album.

Haimovitz and O’Riley have performed the “Shuffle” program in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and dozens of other cities across North America.

Haimovitz and O’Riley’s first release on the PENTATONE Oxingale Series was BEETHOVEN, Period., the complete Beethoven Sonatas and Variations, in January 2015. Gramophone said “Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley play the living daylights out of these works” and included it among its list of Top Ten Beethoven Recordings. Released this fall, The Cello Suites According to Anna Magdalena is Haimovitz’s profoundly transformed interpretation of the Bach Cello Suites, performed on baroque cello and cello piccolo. “Matt Haimovitz has made us well aware that this music is alive, breathes, and refuses to be walled up in a stylistic protective shell. And that is the greatest achievement of this exceptional musician,” said ICI Musique. In 2015, Pentatone also released ORBIT, a new compilation of contemporary solo cello works, which The New York Times called “fascinating … heartwarming, scary, playful and groovy, this recording reveals worlds inside a single instrument.”

Next, Haimovitz and O’Riley collaborate on an all-Russian album, featuring sonatas by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, due for release in late 2016.

Classical Composition Meets American Idol in THE EAR

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January 29, 2016

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Leading a movement to reboot mainstream classical music, The Ear returns, following its boisterous debut in October. Provoking an alternative to frequently-alienating “new music,” The Ear is a concert, a rowdy night out, and a competition for mainstream classical composers. The brainchild of composer Alf Bishai, The Ear asks audiences the simple question: Do you want to hear it again? The second edition of The Ear takes place on Monday, February 29 at 7:00 pm at Le Poisson Rouge, the multimedia art venue with food and drink, in Greenwich Village, New York City.

“I’ve been obsessed with understanding the absurdities, prejudices and self-defeating practices of classical music culture, and with figuring out how we may be rid of them,” says Bishai, a composer, music director, and music theory teacher at NYU. “The Ear is the fruit of a decade of thinking, arguing, writing, wrangling, experimenting, and searching for kindred spirits.” Steadily attracting like-minded musicians, The Ear currently counts over 600 composers in its network. The aim? To produce infectious, jaw-droppingly gorgeous, new classical hits.

At The Ear, seven new short works for solo piano will be performed. After each piece, the audience answers the question: Do you want to hear it again? If half vote yes, the piece moves forward. At the end of the evening, the yeses are encored and, after a vote, the winner is declared and takes home $2,000.

At The Ear’s launch event in October, the audience encored 7 out of 9 pieces. “After each piece, people exchanged thoughts and reactions; strangers were having fun conversations about high art!,” says Bishai, also the emcee, “People were bantering with me on stage, cheering, booing, heckling. The Ear is a glorious, beautiful, human mess, and great art is going to be born here.”

Mark Weiser’s piano piece “High Velocity” was declared the winner of the premiere event, “When I saw the tagline: a composition competition with beer, I knew it was going to be great,” said Weiser, “The audience was the most enthusiastic I had ever experienced at a classical music concert. The Ear is doing something really important: reminding composers that new classical music should be exciting, moving, challenging, and engaging to an audience, not alienating.”

The Leap Day event at Le Poisson Rouge will feature new works for solo piano by Oren Lok, Lisa Hogan, Aaron Malone, Gonzalo Gimenez, Caio Fonseca, and Alf Bishai, as well as previous winner Mark Weiser. The pianists are Vladimir Rumyantsev, Mayumi Tsuchida, Lachlan Glen, and Elbert Gong.

The Ear is also set to unveil an all-new experimental ensemble for a new classical sound: the Manhattan Bassblaster – 7 basses, 1 cello, 1 violin, and piano. “Intimate, powerful, versatile, and consummately classical, you’ll frown at the car that pulls up next to you cranking it on their stereo,” quips Bishai. To try it out, The Ear has created a composer game that takes the opening motive of Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony as its launching point. Instructions can be found at theearclassical.com. (Participants must be able to attend the live event in New York; the submission deadline is February 15th.)

“Classical is coming back with a vengeance,” says Bishai, “All it will take is for a wave of composers – after an 80-year vacation – to resume writing music that society wants to hear again and again.”

THE EAR: A MAINSTREAM COMPOSER COMPETITION

Monday, February 26 at 7:00 pm (doors 6:00 pm)

Le Poisson Rouge | 158 Bleecker Street | 212.505.FISH | lpr.com

Link to purchase

www.theearclassical.com

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